Yesterday, I woke up at 7:30 to catch a bus out to the countryside with 20 or more people. It was the monthly hiking trip organized by the local outdoors club. This was my first time going and I was looking forward to seeing the countryside on foot and meeting some new people. I wasn't disappointed, and they even managed to give a normal hiking trip some spanish flare.
We drove about 45 minutes east of Coru~a to a small town named Carballo. The trail head lay just south of the town, but we unloaded the bus in Carballo just to have a morning coffee and socialize for 20 minutes. I felt like I was on a field trip. I had a met a German girl the day before at an Italian Flash Mob (the humor is implicit) and had told her about the event, and was surprised to see her that morning. We hit the trail at about 9 and there was still frost on the ground, but the sky was blue and the sun was shining like it should on a Sunday. It was great. My friend, Franziska, and I stood out for being the youngest people there and the only foreigners. It was nice, though, because everyone was very friendly and interested in us. We practiced Spanish more than I ever have in an extended period. The trip was a pleasant 20 km walk through fertile pine forest and old villages, and the time was spent between good conversation and peaceful thought. Every so often, we'd come across a single house with smoke billowing from the chimney, or an ancient church surrounded by a sprinkling of houses. We stopped in one such place for lunch, when 25 of us swept into a house/cafe and proceeded to have beer, coffee, and a shot of liquor cafe with our lunches. How Spanish!
We passed a couple of gentle waterfalls, many barking dogs, and a lot of countryside which reminded me of medieval times with peasants picking their crops and hens roosting in the yard. We finished around 6 and stopped again for a coffee/beer and chat on the way home. It was a very nice day and I look forward to next month's excursion. I failed when it comes to picture taking because my batteries died soon into the hike.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
is boredom life´s antagonist?
written from a non-spiritual point of view...What is life about? yes, yes so philosophical, but it´s one of the most natural questions to ask. Excluding those people with the luxury of deep and unwavering faith in a Christian god that demands a certain behavior and lifestyle, life would seem, I think, to be a pursuit of happiness, success or survival. Yet these three things have such subjective meanings.
Happiness is a fleeting sensation. Sure, there are scientific and psychological studies that pretend to whittle the mystery of gainable and sustainable happiness down to a list or process, but I pessimistically don´t think the achievement of such a thing is possible. But I have no reason to think that is possible, though, being that have lived what i consider to be a happy life until now. But my worry and doubt comes from the acknowledgement that the things that make me happy now will not bring me said happiness in the future. Sure, sports and reading and music will always bring me a degree of well-being, but will my current lifestyle, one void of want of nice and often material things, marriage, or children stay buried under the blissful protection of the charmed life that I have now? I have not suffered the life-altering shock that i have watched in so many movies, and I do not know how I will handle it when that assumed day arrives, whether it be news of cancer, death of a loved one, or prolonged impoverishment. It´s equally hard to define what exactly makes me happy now and why it does so. I think part of it stems from the human quality of finding happiness through sociability. For this reason, I count myself lucky to have been born and raised in the Southern culture that holds friendship and good times to a very high standard.
So, for some, wouldn´t success in life be equal to prolonged (dare i say permanent) happiness? This inferring that happiness comes with the absence of all things that reduce happiness: disease, pain and sorrow...etc. But when those things do happen, there seems to be two things that help immensely: money and or strong relationships with family and friends. I´ll try to skip over the cliche of money vs. happiness by saying that sure it helps, but is it a worthwhile lifetime commitment? Or is pride in one´s achievements, no matter how big or small they be, or the ability to improve other people´s lives while improving your own, a definition of success? For me, a combination of the 3 would be paramount.
And then there is the ancient definition of success: survival. It was so plain and simple then. But then we evolved right? Our interests, desires and mobility adapted and changed and we began to want more out of life than mere survival. We arrive to present times when our sheer technological and evolutionary advancement has given life, for most people, a plethora of paths, options, or meanings. Now i can define personal success as climbing a mountain or seeing 40 countries, when 100 years ago this was not factored into the equation. Now, i can define success by having my own internet business or reading 5 books a week on a Kindle. But, there still exist many people that only define success by putting food on the table, and this is what separates the West from the Other. But it is nice to know, that no matter how hard it might be, the Other still exists within my Western framing of the world, and that if need be, i can define myself in their terms, no matter if it requires a redefining of what happiness means to me. But hey, i don´t know exactly what that is anyway, i just know that it currently comes to me naturally, and i´m grateful for that.
Note: does this sound like a self-help article? I started writing with the intention of talking about boredom being the biggest obstacle in life, and that finding ways to cure boredom can ultimately lead to happiness and success. So would life then be about not being bored?...because no one wants to be bored to death.
Happiness is a fleeting sensation. Sure, there are scientific and psychological studies that pretend to whittle the mystery of gainable and sustainable happiness down to a list or process, but I pessimistically don´t think the achievement of such a thing is possible. But I have no reason to think that is possible, though, being that have lived what i consider to be a happy life until now. But my worry and doubt comes from the acknowledgement that the things that make me happy now will not bring me said happiness in the future. Sure, sports and reading and music will always bring me a degree of well-being, but will my current lifestyle, one void of want of nice and often material things, marriage, or children stay buried under the blissful protection of the charmed life that I have now? I have not suffered the life-altering shock that i have watched in so many movies, and I do not know how I will handle it when that assumed day arrives, whether it be news of cancer, death of a loved one, or prolonged impoverishment. It´s equally hard to define what exactly makes me happy now and why it does so. I think part of it stems from the human quality of finding happiness through sociability. For this reason, I count myself lucky to have been born and raised in the Southern culture that holds friendship and good times to a very high standard.
So, for some, wouldn´t success in life be equal to prolonged (dare i say permanent) happiness? This inferring that happiness comes with the absence of all things that reduce happiness: disease, pain and sorrow...etc. But when those things do happen, there seems to be two things that help immensely: money and or strong relationships with family and friends. I´ll try to skip over the cliche of money vs. happiness by saying that sure it helps, but is it a worthwhile lifetime commitment? Or is pride in one´s achievements, no matter how big or small they be, or the ability to improve other people´s lives while improving your own, a definition of success? For me, a combination of the 3 would be paramount.
And then there is the ancient definition of success: survival. It was so plain and simple then. But then we evolved right? Our interests, desires and mobility adapted and changed and we began to want more out of life than mere survival. We arrive to present times when our sheer technological and evolutionary advancement has given life, for most people, a plethora of paths, options, or meanings. Now i can define personal success as climbing a mountain or seeing 40 countries, when 100 years ago this was not factored into the equation. Now, i can define success by having my own internet business or reading 5 books a week on a Kindle. But, there still exist many people that only define success by putting food on the table, and this is what separates the West from the Other. But it is nice to know, that no matter how hard it might be, the Other still exists within my Western framing of the world, and that if need be, i can define myself in their terms, no matter if it requires a redefining of what happiness means to me. But hey, i don´t know exactly what that is anyway, i just know that it currently comes to me naturally, and i´m grateful for that.
Note: does this sound like a self-help article? I started writing with the intention of talking about boredom being the biggest obstacle in life, and that finding ways to cure boredom can ultimately lead to happiness and success. So would life then be about not being bored?...because no one wants to be bored to death.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
a word on homeless people
A Word on Homelessness
On any given night there are 564,000 homeless people in the United States, giving it the deplorable distinction of having one of the highest rates of homelessness among developed nations. Given that politicians frequently debate this issue, it is valuable to give it some consideration and look at how other countries handle it.
With the recent economic downturn, homelessness has become a bigger issue in Spain. This may seem logical considering the current rate of unemployment in the country, but historically the government has taken measures to protect the poor and disadvantaged in its country. However, things have changed since the crisis began and the government began tightening its belt. Couple this with the skyrocketing number of evictions due to payment default and you have the makings of a social disaster. Interestingly, the attitude of these less fortunate people, and that of the government towards them, is notably different than in the U.S.
Begging in Spanish cities is not the same that you see in Los Angeles or New Orleans, where you sometimes feel like the person is conning you or guilting you into giving a little bit. It may happen that way in Spain, but overall, it is a simpler statement: "I´m poor, the economy is horrendous in this country, can you give me some change?" Local governments and the general population seem to understand the situation; there seems to be a lot more sympathy and understanding that this could happen to anyone at anytime.
This sympathy is reflected in the attitude of people in Spain and the U.S. A great example is that, with a severe cold front approaching one week in Galicia, the local authority visited the banks to drop off coats, hot drinks and blankets to the homeless as they took shelter in the ATM rooms. This would not readily happen in the U.S. because the interests of the business would supersede that of the individual. The homeless person would not be allowed to sleep in the ATM room because it might disturb more fortunate patrons, patrons that fear the homeless. Granted, there are institutions that provide for the homeless here in the United States, but in general, they are somewhat scorned in this country. There is less solidarity, and this attitude bleeds in to the rest of the country's culture and identity.
The United States built itself around the sacredness of private property, and its cultural identity grew out of the assumption that it is of the utmost importance. While there is no doubt that it is important and must be protected, it is increasingly relevant to study other countries' ideologies and adjust our national consciousness if it is found that we can learn from them.
On any given night there are 564,000 homeless people in the United States, giving it the deplorable distinction of having one of the highest rates of homelessness among developed nations. Given that politicians frequently debate this issue, it is valuable to give it some consideration and look at how other countries handle it.
With the recent economic downturn, homelessness has become a bigger issue in Spain. This may seem logical considering the current rate of unemployment in the country, but historically the government has taken measures to protect the poor and disadvantaged in its country. However, things have changed since the crisis began and the government began tightening its belt. Couple this with the skyrocketing number of evictions due to payment default and you have the makings of a social disaster. Interestingly, the attitude of these less fortunate people, and that of the government towards them, is notably different than in the U.S.
Begging in Spanish cities is not the same that you see in Los Angeles or New Orleans, where you sometimes feel like the person is conning you or guilting you into giving a little bit. It may happen that way in Spain, but overall, it is a simpler statement: "I´m poor, the economy is horrendous in this country, can you give me some change?" Local governments and the general population seem to understand the situation; there seems to be a lot more sympathy and understanding that this could happen to anyone at anytime.
This sympathy is reflected in the attitude of people in Spain and the U.S. A great example is that, with a severe cold front approaching one week in Galicia, the local authority visited the banks to drop off coats, hot drinks and blankets to the homeless as they took shelter in the ATM rooms. This would not readily happen in the U.S. because the interests of the business would supersede that of the individual. The homeless person would not be allowed to sleep in the ATM room because it might disturb more fortunate patrons, patrons that fear the homeless. Granted, there are institutions that provide for the homeless here in the United States, but in general, they are somewhat scorned in this country. There is less solidarity, and this attitude bleeds in to the rest of the country's culture and identity.
The United States built itself around the sacredness of private property, and its cultural identity grew out of the assumption that it is of the utmost importance. While there is no doubt that it is important and must be protected, it is increasingly relevant to study other countries' ideologies and adjust our national consciousness if it is found that we can learn from them.
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